Seeking safe and affordable neighborhood housing for young married couple (Burien, Renton, West Seattle/Alki, etc.) (Spokane: apartment)

[Brisky86]

Hello,

My wife and myself are moving at the end of July to Seattle from Spokane.
I will be a student at SPU and my wife is a professional who just recently got a job in Burien.

We both have bikes and are avid outdoor enthusiasts.
We currently do not have any kids.
We are in our mid to late 20s.

I have been trying to ask co-workers and acquaintances about the best areas to live in or around Seattle, but have heard very mixed results.

Housing Requirements:

Rent: $1,000 to $1,200 a month in rent at an apartment

Size: > 750 sqft

Rooms: At least 1 bedroom & 1 bath

Parking: Parking for two cars

Commute: < 30 minutes to Burien

Safety: We both want to feel safe parking our cars and going on walks around the neighborhood.
Less urban might be better, but we are flexible.


I was told:

recommend staying away from White Center and the Rainier Valley/Rainier Beach areas if you can – they’re higher crime areas and, in my opinion, aren’t great neighborhoods. Burien’s fine, as is Des Moines (if you want to go a little further south), or Renton (if you want to go a little further east).

Burien
Originally, I was thinking of living in Burien, but have been told from a couple people that it is not an ideal place to live, despite being more affordable. However, I have also heard that it is "fine".

I was warned that this area is undesirable as it is more "eclectic" and sounded like it has a very diverse population.

Here is the crime rate data that also has us concerned.

https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ashington.html

Burien crime rates and statistics - NeighborhoodScout


Renton:
I have heard Renton is alright, but that commuting out of Renton takes a long time to get to Western and Northern parts of Seattle and was told that "there is nothing to do there."


West Seattle
Heard it is a nice and ideal area, however rent is more expensive and during rush hour getting out and crossing the bridge takes a long time, but heading South through side roads to Burien is doable and does not take as long.


Beacon Hill
Told it is an ok area, but has more of an activist culture for minority rights and the like.



Any advice and experience in these areas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Brisky86

Hello,

My wife and myself are moving at the end of July to Seattle from Spokane.
I will be a student at SPU and my wife is a professional who just recently got a job in Burien.

I have been trying to ask co-workers and acquaintances about the best areas to live in or around Seattle, but have heard very mixed results.

Housing Requirements:

Rent: $1,000 to $1,200 a month in rent at an apartment

Size: > 750 sqft

Rooms: At least 1 bedroom & 1 bath

Parking: Parking for two cars

Commute: < 30 minutes to Burien

Safety: We both want to feel safe parking our cars and going on walks around the neighborhood.
Less urban might be better, but are flexible.


I was told:




Burien
Originally, I was thinking of living in Burien, but have been told from a couple people that it is not an ideal place to live, despite being more affordable. However, I have also heard that it is "fine".

I was warned that this area is undesirable as it is more "eclectic" and sounded like it has a very diverse population.

Here is the crime rate data that also has us concerned.

https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...ashington.html

Burien crime rates and statistics - NeighborhoodScout


Renton:
I have heard Renton is alright, but that commuting out of Renton takes a long time to get to Western and Northern parts of Seattle and was told that "there is nothing to do there."


West Seattle
Heard it is a nice and ideal area, however rent is more expensive and during rush hour getting out and crossing the bridge takes a long time, but heading South through side roads to Burien is doable and does not take as long.


Beacon Hill
Told it is an ok area, but has more of an activist culture for minority rights and the like.



Any advice and experience in these areas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

1. There are some pretty bad parts of Burien. Don't live in them. Outside of Burien's bad parts, it's actually very nice. I was just there this afternoon buying dog food from the health food dog food store. Essentially, stay west of 1st Ave S, and south of about 140th. Downtown Burien is SW 152nd and 153rd Streets. Crime is lower in those parts, and it's quite pleasant.. People who call Burien undesirable are not referring to the nicer parts. A lot of places have nice and not so nice parts, including Seattle, San Francisco, and London. To rue a place out because the entire city isn't nice is rather limiting.
2. I live in Renton. I like it. It's easy to get to Burien from Renton. It takes me 15 minutes, and traffic is rarely bad. Getting to North Seattle can be a pain. There's more than nothing to do there, but it's much smaller than Seattle, but there's lots of restaurants, places to drink good beer, movies, a bookstore.
3. Most of West Seattle is pretty expensive, and those parts of West Seattle that are less expensive are either in much less nice parts, or are far from Burien. You never have to cross the West Seattle bridge to get to Burien from West Seattle.
4. Beacon Hill is OK, and if you lived there, you'd hardly be aware of minority rights activists were there. There is El Centro De La Raza there, but unless you're involved, most people just go about their daily lives.

[Brisky86]

Originally Posted by Ira500

1. There are some pretty bad parts of Burien. Don't live in them. Outside of Burien's bad parts, it's actually very nice. I was just there this afternoon buying dog food from the health food dog food store. Essentially, stay west of 1st Ave S, and south of about 140th. Downtown Burien is SW 152nd and 153rd Streets. Crime is lower in those parts, and it's quite pleasant.. People who call Burien undesirable are not referring to the nicer parts. A lot of places have nice and not so nice parts, including Seattle, San Francisco, and London. To rue a place out because the entire city isn't nice is rather limiting.

2. I live in Renton. I like it. It's easy to get to Burien from Renton. It takes me 15 minutes, and traffic is rarely bad. Getting to North Seattle can be a pain. There's more than nothing to do there, but it's much smaller than Seattle, but there's lots of restaurants, places to drink good beer, movies, a bookstore.

3. Most of West Seattle is pretty expensive, and those parts of West Seattle that are less expensive are either in much less nice parts, or are far from Burien. You never have to cross the West Seattle bridge to get to Burien from West Seattle.

4. Beacon Hill is OK, and if you lived there, you'd hardly be aware of minority rights activists were there. There is El Centro De La Raza there, but unless you're involved, most people just go about their daily lives.

Awesome information.
This helps a lot.

Thank you!

[amaiunmei]

Literally, as this conversation happened, two students shot up Seattle Pacific University (and guess what they looked like) as Burien remained silent.

Moral of the story: don't make presumptions solely on skin color.

[Brisky86]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

Literally, as this conversation happened, two students shot up Seattle Pacific University (and guess what they looked like) as Burien remained silent.

I just heard this on the news too.
Truly awful thing to happen....

Makes me feel more apprehensive about the move for sure...
Shows that no matter what area some one lives in bad things happen.

Prayers going that direction today.
I hope everyone will be ok. :/

[amaiunmei]

Peace be to you, man.

I know you've got a lot going on, but know that this kind of incident is super-mega-rare.

That's the thing about this area: it's the randomness. That neighborhood has probably seen about 100 years of idyllic peace, but all it takes is one incident.

[Brisky86]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

Peace be to you, man.

I know you've got a lot going on, but know that this kind of incident is super-mega-rare.

That's the thing about this area: it's the randomness. That neighborhood has probably seen about 100 years of idyllic peace, but all it takes is one incident.

Yeah, I am not going to lie I am pretty rattled right now by this. Talking about safety in other areas around Seattle, where at the very place I will be in thinking I would be safest, and will be at regularly in three months, had four people shot and one who just died... I am at a loss for words right now...

[Brisky86]

Bump...

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Brisky86

Yeah, I am not going to lie I am pretty rattled right now by this. Talking about safety in other areas around Seattle, where at the very place I will be in thinking I would be safest, and will be at regularly in three months, had four people shot and one who just died... I am at a loss for words right now...

It's horrible what happened, but it makes the chances of another shooting ever happening again at SPU extremely slim.
Seattle is much lower in violent crime than most cities it's size. That statistic means nothing if you're the victim.
But back to where to live? If I were working in Burien, I'd love to live really close to home, and as close to the water as possible. Seahurst Park is an awesome place, with Puget Sound waterfront , and hikes in the woods up the hill. So downtown Burien, the Seahurst neighborhood, or a little south would all be alright. Normandy Park's nice, if a little dull. Downtown Burien's sort of hopping. Farmer's Market on Thursday. Nice new downtown library. Great microbrewery/eatery featuring organic beer.
Des Moines near the water is nice, but why go further south if one of you is going to be traveling to SPU? Just so you both have to suffer? Public transit to DT Seattle is frequent and fast from the Burien transit center, the Seahurst neighborhood is maybe a mile, mile and a half away.
And they're about to start Rapid Ride between Renton and Burien. Limited stop express buses with frequent service, and fast. That'd be a plus for Renton. Getting from Burien to SPU would be very close to how long it would take from Renton(and by Renton, I mean close to downtown or the Landing, not the outer reaches).